Also known as the Great Expedition and sometimes the Wilkes Expedition.
Sorry Google has mucked up how to post pictures.
A great expedition was proposed by John Quincy Adams to explore the South Pacific. It was ignored by Congress.
Towards the end of his first term, Andrew Jackson decided he
needed something splashy to help with his re-election. Jackson decided to
revive Adams proposal. Titian Ramsey Peale explained the expedition to congress.
Peale said this was to carry out James Smithson’s bequest
“to fund an institution for the increase of knowledge.” It would also be a way
to thwart British ambitions from California to Nootka Island, Canada. Congress
appropriated the money.
The expedition was named The United States Exploration Expedition (United States Ex Ex) but is also named the Wilkes Expedition.
Jackson was re-elected and he left the enterprise in the
hands of someone unable to fathom what it would entail, Secretary of the Navy Mahlan Dickerson.
Dickerson and the Board of Commissioners couldn’t agree on how to spend the
money. For two years nothing was decided. The Board was bickering on the issue
of civilian scientists on naval vessels. Would they be subject to military
discipline? Will the scientific results belong to the civilians or the
Navy? Jackson lost patience and
overriding everyone, appointed Thomas ap Catesby Jones as commander.
Jones took command and requisitioned five ships for the
expedition. He was going to make Macedonia his flag ship. He then chose
subcommanders to captain the ships. He submitted the list to the Board of
Commissioners expecting routine approval.
Dickerson chose his own men, Charles Wilkes from the Depot
of Charts and Instruments, and Alexander Slidell. Both had scientific strengths,
and they were senior to some on Jones’s picks on the list but did not have experience
commanding a ship much less a Squadron.
The Board sided with Dickerson mainly because they would
keep the civilian “scientifics” under control and maybe off the ships.
Dickerson muddied the
waters concerning Wilkes and Slidell putting things on hold. He undermined
Jones by naming three lieutenants, two of them with senior service
to Macedonia.
In the spring of 1837, the Macedonian was being
outfitted for sail. The largest ship, it would berth the “Scientific Corps,” and
also store all the specimens and collections acquired on the voyage. The
secondary mission was to protect whalers and traders. undermining the original
specified mission.
The scientists squabbled amongst themselves over keeping
their discoveries secret instead of combining the knowledge. The purpose of the
expedition was the share the knowledge not just among scientists, but to the
whole world.
Commodore Jones was eager to get all the ships outfitted and
ready to sail.
Wilkes was in charge of the Depot of Charts and Instruments.
The chronometers and other instruments needed by the ships were not delivered.
Wilkes’s excuse was that they needed to be rated before being delivered.
Jones ordered Wilkes to turn over instruments, saying,
“There is no excuse for detaining the chronometers twenty
days longer at Washington to obtain Wilkes rates of those delicate instruments,
for they must all be tested by the new ratings after they are returned to this
place (Hampton Roads) and put on board their respective vessels, and this indispensably
preliminary may require several weeks at this season.”
Wilkes wasn’t at the depot. He was preparing to sail on Porpoise
ahead of the rest of the expedition. The instruments were in New York.
Wilkes was technically superior to Jones in command, but as
Commodore, Jones had the power to order him not to sail. The expedition was at
a stalemate.
Dickerson placed the custody of the ships under the commands
of Commodore’s Hull, Biddle, and Aulick. The secretary then offered the post of
commanding the expedition to numerous officers. All turned him down.
Now President Martin Van Buren stepped in to get things back on
track. He directed Secretary of the Army, Joel Poinsett, to clean up the mess.
Poinsett met with congressman John Quincy Adams asking for
his advice. The papers gave the former president’s reply, “All I want to hear
about the exploring expedition is that it’s sailed.”
Poinsette met with many officers high and low trying to
untie the Gordian Knot. Poinsett asked each commander to make a list of those that would make the best commanders. None of them named themselves.
Poinsette was disillusioned and gave in to Dickerson. He
named Wilkes commander, which is why Wilkes sabotaged the endeavor for
years.
This decision did not set well with the Navy. Wilkes’s rank
was for one ship, he was given command of a whole squadron. Many lieutenants
refused to serve under him.
Poinsette also reduced the mission to charting the seas,
astronomy, and navigation. This reduced the number of scientists from
thirty-two to eight.
Jones gave illness as a reason to resign his command. One
man stymied the careers of the best officers in the navy.
Setting Sail
August 18,1838 the squadron set sail from Hampton Roads. (all ships start USS) It comprised the Vincennes—sloop-of-war, Peacock—sloop-of-war,
Relief—full-rigged ship, Porpoise—brig, Sea Gull—schooner,
Flying Fish—schooner.
On the first part of the journey the squadron left Hampton
Roads, traveled to Madeira then to Rio de Janeiro. The Relief was late
and delayed the expedition.
They sailed to Tierra del Fuego and bested Captain Cook’s
farthest point South at 71010’. Flying Fish reached 700.
From there they sailed to Valparaiso. On May 10, the Sea Gull was reported
missing. The squadron reached San Lorenzo off Callao for repair and
provisioning. Wilkes sent Relief back to America.
June 21, they sailed into the South Pacific. They reached
Reao of the Tuamotu group of islands and Tahiti on September 11. They sailed to
Samoa then Sydney, Australia. From there they sailed south to Antarctica. Then
north, wintering in the Sandwich Islands (Hawai’i).
Once refitted they sailed to other islands. In July 1840
Lieutenant Underwood and Wilke’s nephew Midshipman Henry were killed on Fiji’s
Malolo Island. Eighty Fijians were killed, and two villages burned to the ground
in reprisal.
The squadron separated for three months to widen their search
and regrouped on August 9 at Macuata. They visited Palmyra Atoll, the first expedition
to visit it.
They were welcomed warmly by the King Kamehameha in Honolulu. The ships
were then sent to explore the other islands in the group. There were a were incidents
with the natives on some of the islands with natives killed and villages
burned.
The squadron then sailed north to the coast of North
America. They explored into Canada. The Peacock went aground in the Columbia River and was abandoned. No loss of life. They made a map of upper California.
They visited a number of forts belonging to the Hudson Bay Company and native
tribes.
The squadron spent more time in Honolulu, leaving on
November 17. On the way back to home they visited Wake Island, Philippines,
Singapore, Polynesia, and Cape of Good Hope. Entering New York Harbor June 10,
1842.
Wilkes was not a respected commander. He overstepped his authority by flogging-around-the-fleet not allowed in the American navy, where
the man was placed in a boat and lashed while going alongside each ship. He
also exceeded the limit of 48 lashes.
Upon landing Wilkes filed court martial charges against most
of his commanders, and they filed charges against him. He was court marshalled
but found not guilty.
Results
The ships brought back a treasure trove of marine, animal,
plant specimens as well as meteorological and, geological, and hydrological
information. The question was what was to become of them.
The natural place
would be the Smithsonian Institute. The original reason for the expedition. The head of the institute was Joseph Henry.
He thought of the institute as a place scholarly learning and study. With the mass
quantity of specimens, it would turn the institute into a museum. He vigorously
fought allowing them in, but Congress, knowing there wasn’t any place else to
put them, ordered him to accept them.
With the help of the expedition's scientists, 280 islands, mostly in the Pacific, were explored, and over 800
miles (1,300 kilometers) of Oregon were mapped. Of no less importance, over
60,000 plant and bird specimens were collected.
A staggering amount of data and
specimens were collected during the expedition, including the seeds of 648
species, which were later traded, planted, and sent throughout the country.
Dried specimens were sent to the National Herbarium, now a part of the
Smithsonian Institution. There were also 254 live plants, which mostly came
from the home stretch of the journey, that were placed in a newly constructed
greenhouse in 1850, which later became the United States Botanic Garden. Other
contributions were three reports by James Dwight Dana on Zoophytes, Geology,
and Crustacea. The Smithsonian Institution has digitized the five-volume narrative
and the accompanying scientific volumes.
By June 1848, many of the specimens were lost or damaged and many remained unidentified. Asa Gray was hired to
work on the botanical specimens and published the first volume of the report on
botany in 1854, but Wilkes was unable to secure the funding for the second
volume.
While away congress had created the first National
Observatory, and included meteorology, hydrology, charts and instruments in the newly
constructed building in Foggy Bottom. He was angry that the post for the observatory was
given to Matthew Fontaine Maury.
Maury would use the hydrology, geological and meteorology findings
to help create the first comprehensive wind and weather charts published by the
United States becoming the Father of Oceanography.
Aftermath
From 1844-1861 Wilkes started writing his expedition report.
Twenty-eight volumes were planned, but only nineteen were published as: Narrative
of the United States Exploring Expedition, during 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842,
Hydrography and Meteorology.
Wiles also published Western America, including
California and Oregon, Around the World, and Theory on Winds.
In 1861 Acting Rear
Admiral Charles Wilkes commanding the San Jacinto, stopped the Royal
Steamer Trent and removed Confederate commissioners Mason and Slidell.
It nearly caused a war with England. President Lincoln disavowed the incident.
The commissioners were released and went on to England. In 1864 Wilkes was
court marshalled and removed from duty for insubordination but found not guilty.
In 1866 he was commissioned a Rear Admiral. He died February 8, 1877.